Legal Service

Archive for the ‘Thai Visa Seekers’ Category

The U.S. government reacted to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 with several policy and law changes. Those changes have had an enormous and direct impact upon U.S. citizenship and immigration. Show your strong support with custom trading pins and learn more about the country’s history.

The most sweeping change after 9/11 was the U.S. Patriot Act, signed into law on September 26, 2001. While this Act was designed to protect against terrorism, it also has had a negative impact on immigrants. The Act allows law enforcement agencies more power to search telephone communications, e-mails, medical, financial, and other records. The Act limits restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States, and it gave more discretion to law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The Act called for Special Registrations, deportations, fingerprinting and questioning of certain non-citizens, particularly males in certain age groups. The Act was was reauthorized by Congress in 2005.

The U.S. Patriot Act contains immigration provisions that allow for the indefinite detention of any alien whom the Attorney General believes may cause a terrorist act. The Act has been challenged on several legal grounds but remains largely intact.

The U.S. government continues to fight terrorism by tightening its policies on foreigners in our country. Obtaining visas and green cards now involve a complicated process, with more detailed background checks being required. For example, the U.S. government will quickly deport individuals for visa or green card violations.

The Patriot Act and other post 9/11 policies still have a negative impact on the immigrant population. Since 9/11, immigration laws have become more complicated. Obtaining a fiance visa, for example, has become harder, simply due to increased regulation and tighter immigration requirements. Thus, the need for an experienced immigration attorney is greater now than ever.

If you or someone you know needs an immigration attorney, contact the Law Offices of Tiffany Vivo.

In an effort to modernize the Thai Immigration system, officials in Thailand have promulgated rules which have precluded some foreigners from remaining in the Kingdom for long periods of time.

In recent months there have been many changes in Thailand’s Immigration and Visa regulations. Most notable among these changes has been the virtual destruction of the infinite visa exemptions once granted by Royal Thai Immigration authorities at border checkpoints. At one point, it was possible for a foreign national to obtain three Thai thirty day visa exemptions before being forced to depart the Kingdom, obtain a visa, and reenter in lawful status. At this time, this scheme is no longer the way Thai Immigration deals with those entering on visa exemptions.

At this moment, Royal Thai Immigration officers are allowing multiple visa exemption stamps. However, these stamps are only valid for 15 days. Instead, they currently allow entrants to gain admission to the Kingdom, but only for 15 days at land borders and 30 days at airports.

The result of this state of affairs was an increasing number of prospective visitors applied for tourist visas outside of Thailand. Consulates and Embassies in the ASEAN countries have seen a dramatic rise in Tourist visa applications as well as approvals. The most interesting aspect of this situation was the fact that this upsurge in Tourist visa applications also coincided with a program instituted by the Thai government to give away free tourist visas. As a result, Consular posts outside of Thailand were taking processing a larger number of cases and being paid less money. Although a Consulate is not a strictly “for profit” enterprise, the lack of funding and heavier workload may explain why Consulates began scrutinizing Tourist visa applications more closely. This problem became particularly acute at notorious “visa run” posts. The Thai Consulate-General in Penang, Malaysia has made stringent rules restricting the issuance of multiple tourist visas as the post believed that there were some foreigners abusing the system.

This leaves the prospective traveler asking themselves: What do I do to get a long term Thai visa? The best advice: plan ahead. It is often easiest to obtain a long term Thai visa from a post in the applicant’s home country. Even though there exceptions to any rule, a prospective long term tourist generally has the best luck in obtaining a visa from his or her home country. However, there are some types of visas that can be easily obtained and some types that cannot be easily acquired. The 3 year multiple entry business visa is an example of the type of visa that is not generally granted. A Thai business visa with a validity of 1 year is more easily acquired by prospective travelers, but even this type of visa requires sponsorship by a company in Thailand and some companies are reluctant to act as sponsors.